Wild Flower at Comic-Con
by iapetus999
Summary: My OC Wild Flower (a supposedly evil teen Hydra agent) discovers that people are cosplaying her...so she escapes from her Hydra base and enters a local cosplay competition. When she discovers a bunch of haters and gropers there, she's tempted to use her powers and destroy them, but she can't let herself be caught. Cameo by Quicksilver.
1. Chapter 1

**Wild Flower At Comic Con**

_**Author's Notes**_

_Okay, this is my Ultra-Mary-Sue chapter of the Wild Flower saga. Yeah, it's way meta and self-indulgent.  
><em>_**However**, I think if you read to the end, you'll see that not everything is as it seems. Includes an appearance by Quicksilver, but it's mostly OC's in here._

_Quick catch-up:_

_Carly is a Hydra agent, born into that world, trained from an early age, and now she's come into her true power—control of Nature and all living things. However, her power has serious costs: use it too much and it destroys what she alters. Secondly, the use of her power is slowly turning her into what she uses her power on: a plant. Driven by Hydra to use her full powers, she winds up killing her boyfriend and destroying a good portion of Virginia. Now, she's back in the clutches of Hydra…_

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**Chapter One**

The TV chattered mindlessly. Carly gazed into the LED glow of hi-def pixels. She slumped on her cot, deep in the hole of some Hydra base, down in her cinder-block room. Or cell. 'Legends of Cosplay' played on the tube, people traipsing around as their favorite real and imagined supers. She sipped her cheap beer and then used the bottle's mouth to push weeds off her face.

It had been almost two years since Carly Richards, aka Wild Flower, had destroyed the Virginia countryside, killing her almost-boyfriend Lance Conrad. Two years of isolation from her friends, her mom, her former life. Everything that Lance had feared had come true: Carly was essentially a prisoner, poked and prodded for "science," forced to demonstrate and even use her special skills for the world's rich and desperate, all to further the 'Cause.'

Just the other day, some oil baron wanted to intimidate his workers by destroying their village. The next week it was some nerdy zillionaire who wanted to impress a girl with a magical garden. Carly didn't care. She only had one rule: no deaths, not even "accidental" or "collateral." She had the power of Death Itself, to suck the life out of living organisms, yet it was some other part of her doing these things. A monster lived inside her, an evil that bided its time until Carly became too weak to hold it back.

Contestants on the TV show chatted about materials, about how terrible and cheaty their competitors were, about how many times they'd been groped or insulted at cons like it was No Big Deal.

Over the last few months, Carly replayed Lance's death in her mind. She'd written a long letter to his dad, the Governor, explaining how much she loved Lance and how it was a terrible accident, that she couldn't control her powers, but it was a lie. She'd been selfish. She'd been cocky. The Governor answered pretty plainly: if you really want your conscience settled, come face the charges. Right. She would be found guilty and locked away forever. Maybe even executed, if that was possible. Still, she had to make this right, had to dedicate her power for good.

Except…Hydra.

_Yeah_.

Some contestant droned on about locally-sourced, organic costuming. Carly picked up a handful of vegetation that sprouted from her body. Didn't get more locally-sourced than this.

Her powers had altered Carly into a freak, like some forest nymph. Her hair was now leaves and vines and moss, her skin dark green and somewhat barky in spots. Clothing wouldn't fit so she didn't bother since her vegetation covered anything interesting.

All she had now was loneliness and the TV. She never got to do anything fun, even on missions, since her freak-face attracted too much attention. Always enter and exit through side doors, eat in private dining rooms, sightsee via limo with blackened windows. She never got to go to a simple dance or party, couldn't meet a boy if her life depended on it. Not that anyone would look at her twice. So, she did her workouts, her missions, but now, at 18, she couldn't stand to see the walls of her virtual prison for one more second.

She sighed, slurped the rest of her beer, lay down on her cot, and watched the parade of contestants pretend to be X-Men or Avengers or Guardians or Ponies.

Carly bolted upright. One of the contestants had chosen to cosplay as—as _Wild Flower_, a really poor imitation of Carly, barely green, almost no vegetation, and wrapped with the remnants of her X-Men uniform, sort of a sexy, glorified version.

Was this a _thing?_ Was Wild Flower a persona that people cosplayed?

Carly grabbed her laptop and flipped it open, and googled "Wild Flower." There it was! Cosplayers, fanfic, wikias. All the details of her life, videos, even parodies.

Carly drank it all in, even commented on a few using the alias Num1WildFlower using an untraceable server. Some forums were fun and flattering, some were super insulting, and she even got into a flame war arguing whether Wild Flower was a good girl in a bad situation or a bad girl trying to get away with things. Internet consensus put her square on the Evil side.

_Evil?_

Honestly, she didn't even know anymore. She'd spent her whole life dreaming of doing evil deeds, pouring ruination down upon mankind, but once she'd experienced the cost…

Yet, girls wanted to dress up like her. _Why?_ The mirror reflected Princess Fiona from Shrek except a lot more green, like someone took Fiona and wrapped her in ivy. Maybe if the world just saw who Carly was, just a girl with dreams and hopes and a curse, they'd understand.

An ad glowed on the side of one of the forums, advertising a cosplay completion at a nearby convention center. Prizes and celebrity judges and fanfare.

_Tonight_.

Carly's finger hovered over the link. A smile curved her green lips. Imagine if the real Wild Flower showed up. She'd have to sneak out of a paranoidly secure facility, create some alibis so the authorities wouldn't suspect anything, but she could do it.

_Maybe_.

She secure-texted Larry, her only true confidant. Larry had become a Marine Lieutenant, off on some assignment on some ship or barracks or who knows.

"All I need is a cover. Please, please say you'll help me. I miss being around people so much. LL"

"Fine," he replied. "Instructions coming."

The texts arrived. Two fake "emergency" missions, while she was on the real one. While everyone was confused about which mission she was actually on, she'd be at the con. Classic Hydra Blundering.

Carly raced to suit up, cramming all her vegetation into an outfit. It crawled back out her neck and cuffs, refusing to stay confined. She snuck through vents and pipes, forced some plants to rip a hole in the security fence, jumped in a waiting limo Larry had arranged, and headed to the hotel. The moment she arrived, her eyes went wide…everyone was in costume. X-Men, Avengers, and just about every fandom under the sun paraded by. A flash of green stepped close—a Wild Flower cosplayer! Carly jumped back in the limo, stripped off her clothes, stuffed them in her bag, and zipped back out. She ran to catch up to her double who was now in the hotel registration line.

"Hey," she said to the girl. "I thought I was going to be the only one."

The girl turned around, took one look at Carly, and gasped. "OMG, that's gorgeous!"

"This? It's just some weeds I threw on. I love your outfit. Way more accurate." The short girl had on green makeup and a torn X-man uniform, likely made of cheap costume material. Probably based on some videos shot of Carly leaving the Virginia devastation, when she first turned green and still had what was left of that suit on.

The girl's gaze devoured Carly. "Oh, you got uh—" her eyes stopped at Carly's chest. Carly looked down.

"Oh, oops. Thought I had that covered." She adjusted her weeds. "Better?"

"Yeah. You don't want to get in trouble. So are you a pro?"

"Pro?"

"You know, professional cosplayer. Compete for prizes?"

Carly shook her head to a rustle of leaves. "No, this is my first time. How do you think I did?"

The girl studied her. "Well, I'm worried that maybe you overdid it. Sort of like 'what if Wild Flower let herself go?' Judges might like it, but it's not strictly canon."

Carly was about to launch into tirade about how hard it was to live cooped up, how the damn weeds did nothing but grow, but then laughed. "Yeah. I'm more Ent than Wild Flower. Maybe I'm a crossover. Oh well. What about you? Are you entering?"

The girl shook her head. "Nah. Not in this outfit. It's just store-bought."

"Wait—they sell my stuff—I mean _Wild Flower_ stuff in stores?" Where the heck was her cut? But yeah, that 'torn' X-Men uniform was just flimsy polyester with Velcro strips. "Listen—I have a ton of extra Wild Flower gear in my bag. I'm probably her biggest fan/groupie. The competition isn't for a few hours, I bet we could get you super spiffy.

The girl eyed her. "Seriously? Like what?"

Carly leaned close. "I have an authentic X-Men uniform, torn just right. Highly illegal, at least according to the guy who sold it. May even be hers. What do you say?"

"Are you sure?" The girl's face lit up.

"Yeah. It's not really working for me anymore. So how should we meet up?"

"Just hit me at MyWildFlower."

"Okay. I'm Num1WildFlower."

"Kewl. Nice meeting you, Wild Flower."

"You too, Wild Flower."

Carly's heart swelled. It felt great to help a fellow enthusiast.

After finishing registration and putting her bag in her room, Carly explored the exhibition floor, filled with hundreds of comics vendors. She was stopped every few feet for a selfie with someone. She bought a few things, and then found a group of Wild Flowers standing in the hallway.

They waved her over and she joined in. They all looked so awesome, from a couple little kids to some maybe grandmas, all with their green skin and flower-laden hair. All eyes fell on Carly.

"Whoa. A naked Wild Flower. Awesome." A boy dressed like Cyclops approached. "Where's the party at, babe? Need someone to trim that hedge?"

"How'd you like to be down to zero eyes?" she replied.

"Hey, didn't mean nothing." His eyes seemed focused on her lower regions. Carly's weeds seemed to tense, her power gathering. She forced it to calm. "You are super hot." He stepped closer. "What say we find a quiet area where I can run through your jungle?"

Carly's fists closed, power circling in her gut. "What did you say?"

The boy closed in and placed a hand on her boob. "I meant, we gonna do this or what?"

Carly couldn't do anything except fight to keep her power bottled up, otherwise the boy's spleen would explode from the inside. "Leave me alone. Please. You don't know what you're doing."

What? Did she just beg a boy for mercy?

He pressed closer. "Come on, let's go to my room. I've always wanted to do a Wild Flower. Let's go wild."

Power raged. So many things she could do to physically hurt him, maim him, destroy him. But she'd never take that risk again, not unless someone's life was at stake.

"Get away from me or I'm calling security."

The boy huffed and smiled. He squeezed her breast and looked around. The other Wild Flowers surrounded him. He shoved her, stepped away, and pointed at her. "We ain't done." He turned and walked away.

Carly released a huge breath and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. The other Wild Flowers surrounded her.

"What a jerk." "You okay?" "These cons suck." "You want us to report him?" "Don't let that jackass ruin the con for you."

Carly shook her head. "I'm fine. I just didn't want to use my Wild Flower power on him, you know?"

The girls smiled.

A little girl in a Wild Flower costume sidled up to her as Carly grabbed her bags of goodies. The kid tugged on Carly's vines.

"Yes?" Carly knelt down.

The girl eyed her mom, and then spoke in Carly's ear.

"I know you're the real Wild Flower. I know it because the real Wild Flower is good."

Carly glanced up at the mom, then whispered back, "the real Wild Flower has done some very bad things but is very sorry for them. She wants to be good very badly." She noticed the kid had a flower pinned in her hair. She plucked it out. "Ssh. Don't tell anyone about this. It will be our secret." She grew the one flower into two, between her knees where only the kid could see it happen. She then placed it back on the kid's head. "Have a nice convention!"

The mom led the kid away, eyeing Carly suspiciously as she left.

"So what do you want to do now?" asked one of the Wild Flowers to the group. "Who wants to photobomb the X-Men meetup? Show them they can't defeat us?"

"Yeah, let's go. You coming?"

Carly shook her head. "I meeting someone in a few." Carly waved as they took off. Sighing, she returned back to her room. The contest was only a couple hours away. She tweeted her new friend from registration. Turned out their rooms were on the same floor. Carly grabbed her gear and knocked on the door. MyWildFlower let her in.

Carly had grabbed the competition entry forms and waved them the MyWildFlower. "You excited?"

The girl looked down. "Sort of. How am I supposed to compete?"

"Well first, let's make you ravishing." MyWildFlower wasn't bad-looking, just kinda short and a bit chunky with one of those tiny noses that disappeared into her face. "Come on, it'll be great." Carly went to work applying shades of green to her skin.

One of the side effects of the whole escapade in Virginia was that Carly was now bigger. Permanently, it seemed. She'd gotten to be a hundred feet tall, and once it wore off, she'd come back down to size, but not all the way. She was now six feet tall and about forty pounds heavier. Again, Princess Fiona. A freak. MyWildFlower was maybe five feet in heels.

"I wish I had a wig like yours," she said, eyeing Carly's crown of flowers.

Carly touched her head. "Don't. It's heavy and scratchy and took forever. I think yours will work fine."

They finished, and MyWildFlower looked great. Except, when she sat down, her costume ripped. Then she started crying.

"Whoa, hold on. I told you I had an outfit." Carly rummaged through her gear bag and procured the tattered pieces of her X-Men outfit. "This here is an actual X-Men outfit, made to look exactly like the one the real Wild Flower wore. It doesn't fit me. Wish I'd known that when I bought it." Except—it _was_ the real outfit Carly had worn when destroying half of Virginia, ripped in half so it was little more than a halter top and waist wrap, the X-Men logo hanging over the belly. She helped MyWildFlower into it.

"There, you look awesome!"

The girl blushed. "Nah."

"If the real Wild Flower was here, she's be really proud of you."

The girl eyed her. "Ya. If the real Wild Flower was here, she'd probably try to kill anyone who was playing her."

"What? No, she's not like that. She'd be flattered. I don't think she's mean like that."

MyWildFlower shook her head. "No disrespect, but you don't know what you're talking about. I know, I looked you up online. Saw a bunch of comments defending her. But come on, Num1, she's like, so beyond us. She doesn't care about people, just her own gain. Why do you think I like her? She doesn't give a crap about what other people think. She doesn't need anyone's approval."

Carly looked down. She deserved that. A kindness here and there didn't make up for what she really was—a villain, a murderer, an agent of an evil organization. "Yeah, well, I think she wants to be a better person."

"If Wild Flower was a better person, full of love and hope and crap like that, we wouldn't love her as much, would we?"

Carly smiled. "We love her despite her flaws."

"No, we love her _because_ of her flaws. We want her to be bad. That's her thing. She destroys everything she touches. She's more Black Widow than Black Widow."

It was so true. "Well, then, we can't disappoint her, then. We've got to get out there and destroy the competition."

They turned their attention to the entry forms. "Wait," said MyWF. "We need a blurb for the announcer to read. We do a 20-second strut while they talk."

Carly looked it over. It was a quick description of materials, the character, and whatever else you could squeeze into twenty seconds. "Looks like we can do a gimmick. Ooh, I have an idea. All we need is bouquet of flowers and a vase. I read about this online. We can rig it up so it makes it look like the flowers are growing. That would be awesome for you."

"What about for you? Why are you doing all this for me?"

Carly looked at the girl, now green and wearing Wild Flower's emblem of resistance and independence in the torn outfit. "Oh, I've got plenty of tricks. I just don't know anyone here and I thought it would be great to have a friend in the competition. And you know…it's Wild Flower!"

"Yeah. Well, kewl. I'll do that."

"Let's meet up in line then, okay?"

"Sure."

"I gotta run, fix a couple things myself."

"Need help?"

"Nah, just eyes and stuff. And some itches. Cosplay's a bitch."

"LOL. K, see you later."

Carly returned to her room, the harassment by Cyclops almost forgotten. She had this idea that after the con, she'd send the girl a message saying that Carly really was Wild Flower and it was the real uniform. Maybe they could stay friends. Would be nice to have one real friend.

Carly wandered back to the exhibition floor, looking to catch up with the Wild Flowers. In the back escalator, she overheard some kids dressed as some Rambo types talking.

"What a bunch of fags. What the F are they doing here? Fags and [_bad word_] in our convention? I f-ing hate this."

"What do you want to do?"

"Let's dump trash on them."

Carly looked to who the idiots were complaining about. A group of costumed dudes on roller skates stood together, except their outfits were super-minimal, thongs and halter tops instead of the usual tights and contoured tops. Carly laughed at the sight. It was so cute.

Power surged again, begging to be let loose against the bigots. She could make their guts explode, make their hair grown inward, make their teeth fall out. But not here. She'd be exposed, jailed, shot. The feeling of that man's hand on her chest lingered, the shame, the intimidation. But if she let even a fraction of her power loose, where would it end? She could destroy the entire convention.

Carly couldn't just stand there as they gathered trash from bins. She couldn't just let more cosplayers get intimidated. She ran in front of them and held out her hands. "Don't do it."

They laughed and snickered, three decent-sized men. "Oh my god, will you look at this bitch? What are you going to do, freak?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Power demanded to be used, but Carly swallowed it. In a lightning move, Carly snatched their passes from their chests. "I'm keeping these, for one. Now go home."

"What the hell?" Their leader tried to snatch them back, but Carly was too quick, ducking away. "Give them back, you bitch!"

Carly used her super-strength to rip the passes in half, holders and all. Her arms shook. "Get out of this convention, haters!"

"Get her!"

Oops. She could take them easily, but not in front of everyone. So she ran. Right into the gay rollerskaters. The now-that-she-saw them close, very muscular skaters.

"What the hell is going on?" yelled a super-well-defined black man in a mask, grabbing Carly's pursuers. The other skaters captured the others.

Carly pointed at them. "They were calling you names so I confiscated their passes."

"Let the bitch go, fags!"

The lead "fag" pulled the jackass off his feet. "Did you lay a hand my sister?"

"Sister?"

Suddenly Carly knew who the man was—Larry, her Hydra contact, in disguise. He had set up her alibis so she could be here. His posse gathered up the suddenly quaking boys.

A security guard approached. "What's going on here?"

Carly spoke. "We caught them sneaking in. I overheard them plotting to disrupt the con."

The boys protested, but a call on the radio filled the hall with security personal who dragged the jerks away.

Larry turned to his fellows. "Hey guys, be back in a flash, gonna talk to sis." He led Carly to a nearby corner. "Damn, girl, way to stay low profile."

Carly gave Larry a hug. She practically shook with emotion. She'd been in Hydra's clutches for years. "It's so good to see you. You don't know what it's been like."

Larry hugged her back. "Well what are big brothers for? So how are things?"

"Terrible. For an event that's supposed to be fun, I've seen so much hate and harassment. It's making me sick. Those guys were really talking about dumping trash on you."

Larry held her at arm's length, towering on his skates. "Well, thanks for the heads-up. We're out and we're loud, so we turn a lot of heads."

"So I guess they don't know you're a Marine officer."

"Heck no. I told 'em I was Navy. Come on, let's meet them."

Carly was led back to the group. It was gay everyone—gay Ironman, gay Hulk, gay Wolverine, and a drag-queen—who else but Wild Flower? He wasn't all green though like Gay Hulk, just flowery with green highlights. "Nice," she said to him. "You're my favorite, of course."

"Of course, darling. One must appreciate the style and grace that is Wild Flower."

"Of course. Please tell me you guys are entering the competition—the Gay Avengers!"

"Please," said Gay Ironman. "We prefer the Fantastic Fags."

"Yes! Awesome. I am totally rooting for you guys."

Larry hand fell on her shoulder. "You really are into this, aren't you kid? Trust me, the real Wild Flower has nothing on you. I think she could learn a thing or two from you." He winked and nodded at the other cosplayers.

"Maybe she will. She just needs to get out more."

"Sounds like it. Well, we must get in line. Good luck, sis."

"Knock 'em dead, bro." Carly waved and moved off, glad to see both she and Larry were having fun for once.

She found MyWF in line already, surrounded by a couple more Wild Flowers. She waved Carly over and whispered to her. "Everyone's asking about the suit. How did you find it?"

Carly winked at her. "I have my ways. Hey, you should have seen, I just met a drag queen Wild Flower."

"Wow. We're so popular."

The harassment behind her, Carly couldn't describe the great feeling she was having, chatting with the other Wild Flowers, seeing all the other awesome costumes of all kinds of super heroes and space aliens and mythological creatures and anime characters. "Hey did you get that vase?"

"Yeah, over here." MyWF picked it up off the floor. "Will this work?"

"Let me see." Carly pretended to mess with it. "Yeah. Just put it on the stage and I'll make it happen."

"How?"

"What do mean?"

"You don't have a controller."

Carly thought fast. "Do you know how many layers I'm wearing? I'm actually super skinny. Not even my real curves." A lie.

MyWF smirked. "Sure. Say, what are you doing afterwards?"

"Nothing planned. Why?"

"Well, it's not official, but a group of Avengers asked to meet a bunch of us Wild Flowers at the dance."

"A dance? Sure. Wait—are they cute?"

"Um, I guess?"

"I mean are they nice? I've met so many creeps today."

MyWF laid a hand on her forearm. "Sure, Wild Flower. Just regular guys."

Carly looked at the hand, and MyWF withdrew it quickly. Carly wondered if she said something wrong. "Hey, great. I'll be there."

MyWF looked relieved. "Kewl. You're like our Wild Flower Rock Star. Now hurry, they're getting ready to start."

Carly eyed the girl for a second? Did she suspect? Naw, Carly had been careful. Maybe.

They planned to not be adjacent in line…why have two Wild Flowers in a row? So they spread out, Carly near the front, MyWF a little back. Carly spotted Larry's friends up front.

They led the line into the still-empty convention hall and placed them in a special section in the front-right corner. Carly sat in the first row between an anime girl and a fully-armored space alien. MyWF sat one row back and a little over, close enough to wave. As soon as everyone was seated, they all got up again and shuffled around while taking selfies, complimenting each other.

A tall warrior-type in chainmail, armor, and a sword strode up to Carly. "My Queen, I am here to protect you. Might I offer you my services?"

Ooh—role playing? He bowed low but his eyes looked up.

"Rise, my liege," Carly said, "your offer is accepted." She extended her hand and he kissed it, the most attention she'd had in years. She glanced over at Larry.

"A competitor for your heart?" asked the knight, noticing.

"A brother."

"A fine gentleman indeed. This might be forward of me, but might a humble servant as myself have the dire honor of escorting this carnival's most exquisite royal to the grand ball tonight?"

"The dance?"

"Some call it that."

"I would be honored." A date? With a chivalrous knight? Score!

"Excellent. I shall take my leave to prepare for the jousting. Good evening, Queen Wild Flower." He bowed.

"Good evening, brave knight. You name?"

"Sir Finkelstein." He tipped his helmet and returned to his spot, standing at attention. Carly wondered if she was blushing green.

They were asked to return to their seats. The doors opened, releasing a crowd that surged in like a tsunami. This was the highlight of the convention. Carly didn't need her power to feel the energy in the room. She'd never thought about what it would like to be in a crowd of thousands. Unfortunately, it made her start to sweat…not that it would affect her look, but she did have some darker makeup around her eyes and lips. It's not like she was wearing anything absorbent either. Even her leaves started to sweat. She found a program under her seat and started fanning herself.

The room filled to capacity in minutes, a loud murmur over the piped-in music. The host took the stage, some local DJ she'd never heard of.

The woman spread her arms. "Welcome to the Cosplay competition. How are we all feeling today?"

Requisite shout-outs and thunderous cheers.

"Must be horrible under all that," said the girl next to her, some kind of anime princess with a light-up dress.

"Under what? I'm practically naked and I'm still dying."

The DJ cut in. "And now, let's welcome out judges. First, TV's Amy Jones." Some sit-com actress dressed in a steampunk outfit. Nice. "Next we have the Queen of Cosplay herself, Jennifer Jenkins!"

The crowd roared when a woman walked on looking like Katniss Everdeen and exploded, complete with the on-fire dress. Sweet. Carly definitely couldn't compete with pyrotechnics.

"And finally, we get to reveal our extra-special guest. One of the X-Men, Quicksilver!"

One moment the stage was empty, the next, he was there, wearing just skinny jeans and a half-torn T-shirt. Carly gasped. Aside from Larry, he was the only person here who might recognize that she wasn't just playing Wild Flower. Curses! Carly shrank in her chair. Quicksilver ran through the audience, handing out door prizes to about 100 people in half a second. A shriek went up, mostly because he gave them to girls.

The judges took their seats on stage while DJ explained the rules: each contestant gets 20 seconds of spiel, then the judges comment, kind of like American Idol. They fill out secret scorecards, and then in the final round the top 10 compete, to be judge by audience response. Simple. Maybe. Carly's scalp twitched. Damn if there wasn't a bug trying to make a home up there. She shooed it away. Was Quicksilver playing a prank? Nah—she remembered the whooshing sound he made and hadn't heard it.

They led the first row up contestants to the side of the stage.

The DJ read the blurb as the first contestant stepped up to rousing applause. "First up is China Girl, based on Sushi-Sue Anime. She is a seamstress at heart, and all her clothes are hand-sewn. She hails from New York, and likes long walks on the internet. Let's heard it for China."

Applause.

"Judges?"

Jennifer the cosplay expert spoke. "Pretty accurate, but don't give me that hand-sewn crap. There's a tag right there."

China girl spun around, but it was too late.

Quicksilver laughed into the mic. "Get the hell offstage, faker. Next."

Carly gripped her fists. Sure maybe China girl had bent the rules a bit, but be nice!

The next up, a boy Wolverine, took the stage.

"Totally wrong," said Quicksilver. "Those don't even look like talons. Total fail."

The kid almost left in tears.

Turned out, Quicksilver had something negative to say about all the contestants. Larry's group went up and did a quick roller-skating routine to thunderous cheers.

"Nice," said Quicksilver, "if we were auditioning for the circus. Get out of here, you clowns."

The audience booed loudly. A couple contestants dropped out of line, aghast. Next up was the first Wild Flower, one Carly hadn't met yet.

"Next, we have Wild Flower! A bad girl at her heart, she will steal your affection and break your heart—literally."

Her costume was awful, a see-thru X-Men uniform that revealed more than it concealed, and she was barely even green. Maybe green glitter but that was it. A half-effort at best. Carly was ashamed to admit she couldn't wait for Quicksilver to trash her.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," he said. "Finally, someone with the body made for cosplay. You are a damn gorgeous Wild Flower, much better than the original."

What?! The tramp was wearing plastic flowers. The girl blew a kiss to Quicksilver, while she leaned toward him, displayer her wares, and then bounced off the stage.

Next up was Carly's Knight friend. He roared on stage to the crowd's delight.

"Nice and original," said Quicksilver. "We might have room for you on the X-Men someday, if you ever learn more than how to twirl a sword like a baton."

To his credit, Knight wasn't fazed, and bowed low to the judges. The audience went nuts. Now that was class.

The next few were predictable—the pro cosplayers were lauded, sexy girls praised, everyone else ridiculed. The nerve. Carly wanted to go up there and punch him in the face. This was wrong. It wasn't even evil, it was just rude.

Finally, it was her turn.

The DJ waved her on. "Now, straight from Parts Unknown, from the depths of Hydra, comes the one, the only, the Number One Wild Flower!"

Carly jumped on stage to a huge roar. She had vines and leaves and flowers twirling around her. She'd noticed that the people who brought the most energy got the best responses. She raised her arms like she was about to destroy the audience with her power.

The DJ continued her script that Carly had written. "Her costume is organically sourced using renewable materials, and she grew all the plant material herself. Let's hear it for Number One Wild Flower!"

Audience roared. Carly glowed. Quicksilver spoke.

"Okay, okay, settle down. Now. What the hell is this? Where's the X-Men outfit? Don't you know anything about your character? You look like someone threw a dumpster full of yard clippings on you. If the real Wild Flower were here, she'd take your 'organically grown' plants and strangle you with them. Get off the stage you pathetic super-villain wannabe."

"I'm not the super-villain wannabe," she yelled back at him, but her voice got drowned out by the booing. Carly waved her appreciation to the audience while the helpers ushered her offstage.

Carly ran across MyWF on her way back to her seat.

"I don't want to do this anymore," she said.

"Nonsense. Don't you listen to that bully. Just go up there and do what we discussed. Actually, I have a better idea. Put the vase right in front of that jackass. I'm going to rig it a little different."

"I don't want to get in trouble."

"You won't. It's just flowers."

"Will it squirt or something?"

"Just flowers. Trust me." Carly looked deep into MyWF's eyes. "Okay?"

MyWF gave a little shiver as her eyes widened. "Don't hurt anyone, Wild Flower."

"Me? Wouldn't dream of it. Now get your butt over there and show them what you got."

One after the other, Quicksilver and the other judges ripped into any contestant not up to snuff. Finally MyWF got up on stage.

The DJ spoke the lines Carly had helped write. "Now, imbued with a terrible power since birth, it's My Wild Flower!" MyWF twirled onto the stage, carrying her bouquet. "Behold the power of the mighty flower!" MyWF put the vase in front of Quicksilver and made some motions. Carly concentrated, and the flowers poured out of the vase, covering the table in a quick burst. The crowd went crazy while MyWF waved.

"Hold it, hold it, hold it." Quicksilver stood, grabbed his mic, and flew over next to MyWF, a quick burst of thunder in the PA from moving through air near the speed of sound. "Listen, folks, I appreciate you all coming out and trying to dress like us, I really do. But come on. If you fat or ugly or crippled, just don't bother. Who the hell wants to see a dumpy Wild Flower? And look at this outfit. Just some cheap $10 knockoff made in Japan for trick-or-treaters. This is a real competition for real money. Have some fucking pride in yourselves. No one wants to see gay versions or gender-switched versions of us. It's insulting. Now get the fuck off the stage you Wild Flower wannabe, and anyone who's not in it to win it, get the hell out of line and quit wasting this audience's time."

Before she could even think, Carly was pushing herself through the line and raced on the stage. She grabbed the DJ's microphone from the woman's hand. "Hey. Hey!"

"What the hell? Security?"

Some event guards rushed the stage but Carly raised her hand to them and turned their leg muscles to jelly. Nothing harmful or permanent, just enough power to disrupt normal functioning. "Listen. I am the _real_ Wild Flower, and I am getting sick of the treatment of the cosplayers at this convention. We are not here to be ridiculed, to be touched, to be objects of any kind."

Quicksilver scoffed. "You? Wild Flower? Please. I know the real Wild Flower, and you are no Wild Flower." But there was doubt in his voice.

"I've had men I don't even know come up to me and touch my boobs or ass. I've seen people insult my friends with homophobic or racist slurs. And now, here on this stage, you are taking people's love for their heroes and spitting on them. And people call _me_ a villain?"

"You _are_ a villain. Now get the hell off my stage you fake Wild Flower imitator. Where the hell is security?"

Carly stepped closer to him. "I want the three of you to apologize to all the cosplayers right now."

"Or what?"

"Take a good look at her uniform, the one you said was store-bought. It's mine. It's real."

Quicksilver hesitated, then checked it out while MyWF wiped green-stained tears from her eyes. He jumped back. "That doesn't prove anything. There are plenty of old uniforms in circulation."

"Are you going to apologize or not? Or will I have to do to you what I did back in New York?" She raised her hand to his face.

"It took two months for that to clear up, you bitch!" He covered his face with his hands, as if that would stop her power.

"Or maybe I should do something lower." Carly lowered her palm to aim at his crotch.

"You, you." He sputtered. "This isn't the last time we'll meet, Richards." He disappeared in a whoosh, his mic dropping to the stage in a _thump_.

Carly turned to the other two judges and raised her hand to them. "Well?"

They, too, turned tail and ran. The audience cheered.

Carly picked up the fallen mic, and handed it to the DJ woman who took it with trembling hands. Carly motioned to her.

"Uh, well, folks. That was quite a scene right there. So, how do we know you're the real Wild Flower?"

Carly thought the DJ was challenging her, but the look in her eye said she was pleading for help. "What? You want a demonstration?"

"A demonstration! Yes. Prove to this whole crowd that you are the one and only Wild Flower."

"Uh." Carly looked around. The flowers were already spent, starting to wilt and wither. "Does anyone have any fresh seeds on them? Raw nuts? Anything?"

Someone threw a packet of raw almonds on the stage. Carly felt with her power. Yes, there was enough life there. She opened the pack and scattered the nuts on the stage. "Behold." She held out her arms, and the nuts formed shoots, then leaves, then buds and flowers. "Almond trees!"

The audience gasped and roared.

"So," said the DJ, her voice quivering. "Tell us about this outfit."

Carly looked down. "It's not an outfit. This is me. This is what I look like now."

"So you're not wearing…"

"I'm completely naked. But when you're a cross between Cousin It and a potted plant, clothes become optional."

The DJ just stood with her mouth open. She found her voice. "So. What brings you to this convention?"

Carly looked at the crowd. "When I saw people cosplaying me, I figured what better place to fit in? I just came to make friends, and I hope I have."

"And your life of evil? Is that all over now?"

Carly looked down, then back at the DJ. "Of course not. I'm Wild Flower, I'm Hydra, and you will be hearing from me."

The audience quieted. A few headed for the exits.

"But not tonight. So, what now?" The contestants milled around looking lost.

The DJ stepped forward. "Let's hear it for our new judge, the great and powerful Wild Flower." She put the mic down while the audience applauded and spoke to Carly. "Help me here. I don't know who you really are, but we need judges."

"And I would like to nominate my brother from another mother, Gay Roller-Skating Wolverine, and the brave knight Sir Finkelstein to step in and judge with me. We of course withdraw our names from consideration. What do you say, guys?"

The audience approved the choices. Carly went up to MyWF who looked as shocked as could be. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah. You know, ever since I first saw you, I secretly hoped you were the real Wild Flower dropping in among us mortals. Then when you gave me the real outfit, I kind of knew it was you. Thank you for what you did. Those guys were creeps."

Carly gave her a hug and let her go back to her seat. The three new judges took their places. Security backed off, thinking it was all part of the show. Larry leaned to Carly's ear.

"You are crazy, you know that? I don't know how much time we have before they realize this wasn't an act. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s probably got agents on the way right now."

She leaned to him. "I've got a car waiting. If you think they're too close, I'll bolt. But we need to do this. These people are counting on us."

Larry looked at her from behind his mask. "Okay, I'll keep watch."

The rest of the show was phenomenal, all the contestants were heaped with praise, and the final ten were those who showed the most creativity and effort, regardless of their natural assets or how close to the canon they were. The winner was crowned, an 8-foot alien species that they didn't even know was a boy or girl (or maybe it really was an alien, like Carly really was Wild Flower.)

Show over, Carly headed to the dance, escorted by the Knight. Of course, everyone wanted a selfie with the real Wild Flower, and all Wild Flowers posed for a group picture.

Larry gave her the signal to split. Carly gave MyWF a quick hug, slipped Knight her secret contact number, and they bolted.

It was too late. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in black SWAT outfits surrounded them. Carly had retrieved more seed packets. She threw them at the men, and they exploded into stems and branches that clogged the corridors. They barely made it out the back to the waiting car.

Explosions lit the street and shattered the windows. Larry whipped out a rifle and returned the fire while the car jolted forward. Black-suited agents converged, firing. Bullets ripped through the limo. Carly screamed. Agents ran to the car, whipped the doors open, aimed their weapons at her, and

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Carly sat up. Dammit. Damn. Damn. DAMMIT! She rolled to her side and pushed her feet onto the cold concrete floor.

_Stupid dreams._

Carly sat in her bunker, on a 60's-era steel cot, maybe two inches of lumpy mattress to keep the metal from biting her. She grabbed the remote and flicked off the droning TV, then pulled the weeds from her eyes. _Weeds_. Not flowers, ivy, petals, leaves, or anything nice. Just crappy weeds. She pushed herself to her feet and looked around the 8'x10' room. That's what it was, a cell, not a room any girl her age would want to have.

She walked to the metal sink, stumbling over the beer and booze bottles that littered the floor, and looked at the woman in the mirror, a freak she didn't recognize, with a green tongue and teeth that were starting to follow. Vines trailed behind her on the floor. She'd stopped pruning them. She didn't care anymore. She picked something out of her teeth and spat in the sink.

She wasn't a sex symbol. No one cosplayed her. She was a villain. Not even a sexy villain. More like a creepy-dude-who-shoots-up-a school-villain. Vilified. Hunted. Mocked. She never left this place except on missions, and had to cover her freak body at all times with something like a burqa. One minute out in public and they'd be on her. There was no Larry; she had no idea how to contact him. There was barely any Becky, and her father all but ignored her unless he wanted something. No internet, no phone or laptop, just a crappy TV with basic cable to keep her from totally losing it.

It was just a silly dream, being able to live in public again, to make real friends, to fight jerks and make things right in the world. She was evil, she was Hydra, and nothing could make up for the damage she had done, the lives she had ruined. She grasped at the tendrils of the dream as it escaped, begging them to come back, to have one last dance with her Knight.

"Please, please get me out of this hell," she pleaded to the ceiling, to the little camera that always watched.

She fell to her knees and collapsed on the floor, weeds wrapping her, silence and isolation screaming in her ears.

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**Author's Notes**

_Thanks for reading! Please post a review, would love any feedback! Check out Carly's other adventures when you get a chance._

_I hope to do one or two story arcs in 2015 with more Marvel characters, so make sure to follow me!_


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